Dallas, Texas – April 30, 2018 – Highlander Partners, L.P., a leading middle-market private investment firm based in Dallas, Texas, today announced its acquisition of intellectual property, trademarks and associated licensing agreements and royalties for a portfolio of marquee chocolate and sugar confectionery brands that include Jolly Rancher, Payday, Whoppers, Heath, Milk Duds, Sixlets, Good & Plenty, Zero, Chuckles, and Good & Fruity from Huhtamäki Oyj, a global food and beverage packaging company headquartered in Espoo, Finland.

These acquired assets will be held in a newly-created entity that is fully-owned by Highlander Partners and its affiliates. Highlander has also made other investments in the confection industry through Bettera Brands, a holding company for Gimbal’s, a leading manufacturer of gourmet jelly beans and gummy vitamins, and Hillside Candy, a leading manufacturer of organic, sugar-free and medicated confections.

The portfolio of ten iconic brands acquired in this transaction will continue being licensed to The Hershey Company under the same terms and conditions. The brands are the subject of hundreds of registered trademarks around the world and hold a leading market position in the U.S. and internationally. These confection products have a strong consumer following and are available at most U.S. brick-and-mortar and online retailers.

In connection with this transaction, Alex Guiva, Partner at Highlander, stated, “Because Highlander has its own proprietary capital, we can be flexible, creative and non-bureaucratic when structuring and executing acquisitions, as demonstrated by this transaction. These are exceptional brands that are well known to everyone since childhood. Everyone has a favorite! Many generations grew up loving their taste and will continue to enjoy them. We are proud and excited to be involved with these iconic brands and view them as a great investment that uniquely fits Highlander’s long-term investment strategy.”

Jeff L. Hull, President and Managing Partner of Highlander, added, “Highlander Partners made three investments in the confection space in the last two years, including this one. We remain fully committed to this category and we also have a strong focus on investing in the food and beverage categories, both consumer products and ingredients, having closed more than twenty transactions in those industries in the last ten years. In addition, with the acquisition of the above-mentioned trademarks, we will continue the strategy of evaluating and acquiring valuable intellectual property, brands, trademarks and related royalty assets in food, beverage, and other industries.”

About Highlander Partners

Highlander Partners, L.P. is a Dallas-based private investment firm with over $2.0 billion of assets under management. The firm focuses on making investments in businesses in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience, including basic manufacturing, food, chemicals, building materials, consumer products, and others. Highlander Partners uses a “buy and build” investment approach, creating value by helping companies grow organically and through acquisitions. For more information, visit www.highlander-partners.com.

Dallas, Texas – April 2, 2018 – Niteo Products, LLC, a portfolio company of Highlander Partners, L.P., announced today the acquisition of the air care assets from Kraco Enterprises, LLC. Founded in 2015, through the acquisition of the Valvoline car care assets from Ashland, Inc., and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Niteo is a leading manufacturer and marketer of automotive appearance and performance products.

Kraco’s air care assets provide leading fragrance and appearance products through the well-recognized brands of Ozium® and Scents™, along with certain licensed brands, for both home and auto use. The products are offered in grocery, hardware, convenience, mass merchants and automotive retailers throughout North America. This acquisition of the Kraco air care assets furthers Niteo’s comprehensive automotive appearance and performance product offering and strengthens its complete car care lineup for wholesalers and retailers. The Air Care operations will be conducted from Niteo’s existing facilities in Hernando, Mississippi, and its related employees will join the Niteo team.

Cameron Evans, CEO of Niteo, said, “We believe the additions of Ozium® and Scents™, along with other licensed brands, are highly strategic and complimentary to Niteo’s existing automotive appearance and performance chemical product offering. The acquisition of these core brands in the automotive air care space gives Niteo access to a strong line of well-regarded products and will bolster Niteo’s breadth in the category. We are excited to leverage the full Niteo portfolio of brands for the benefit of our wholesale and retail partners and to work with the Air Care team to continue to grow the business.”

Jeff L. Hull, President and Managing Partner of Highlander and Chairman of Niteo, added, “The addition of Ozium® and Scents™ to our growing family of brands further reinforces our strategy to build a leading business in the automotive appearance, performance, and maintenance markets. Closing our fifth acquisition in this space within the last three years further validates our intent to utilize acquisitions to complement our organic growth efforts. We continue to evaluate numerous other potential transactions and expect to close additional acquisitions in the future.”

About Niteo
NITEO is a premier formulator, manufacturer and marketer of automotive appearance, performance and maintenance chemical products under several leading brands including; AP Formulators and Trans-Mate in the car wash chemical category; CarBrite, Hi-Tech and Trans-Mate in the detail, dealership and auto auction appearance category; and the Pyroil and Cyclo brands, along with a license for the Valvoline & MaxLife brands, in the automotive maintenance and performance chemical category. Niteo offers a comprehensive line of air care, waxes, polishes, compounds, dressings, soaps, cleaners, solvents, paints and dyes, as well as fuel additives, parts cleaners, starting fluids, brake fluid, power steering fluid, and other functional fluids. For more information, visit www.niteoproducts.com.

About Highlander Partners
Highlander Partners, L.P. is a Dallas-based private investment firm with over $2.0 billion of assets under management. The firm focuses on making investments in businesses in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience, including basic manufacturing, food, chemicals, building materials, consumer products, and others. Highlander Partners uses a “buy and build” investment approach, creating value by helping companies grow organically and through acquisitions. For more information, visit www.highlander-partners.com.

About Air Care
The brands include:

Ozium® – Originally developed to combat airborne bacteria and germs in hospitals, Ozium® is clinically proven to eliminate offensive odors. It’s great for car odors that just won’t go away on their own and is especially effective in eliminating smoke odors. Because it kills the bacteria that causes the odor, it eliminates the smell completely.

Scents™ – Scents™ Air Care offers a wide range of fragrances from delicate floral and delicious fruit to fresh outdoor and even new car scents. Contemporary designs include the new Luxe Vent Clips that coordinate beautifully with the premium styling of vehicle interiors. New Scents™ Sachets and Vent Clips with Essential Oil Blends bring the essence of a spa into your car. Other popular products include hanging paper style, fun novelty hanging shapes, sprays, gels, vent sticks and Kraco’s patent-pending vent oil technology that uses auto air vents to circulate the fragrance throughout the vehicle.